In addition to raising your company profile and maximizing the recruiting potential of the Internet, think creatively about ways to tap into labour markets you may have overlooked.
Explore non-traditional labour markets
From persons with disabilities to foreign workers, many non-traditional labour markets represent a multitude of individuals who are eager to work and even more keen to build a long-term career. To get started, research and connect with the appropriate agencies in your area. Talk to other employers who have hired from these labour pools and seek out contacts. Don’t forget about older workers and at-home moms who place a high value on part time work and flexibility in an industry that can easily accommodate both. For more on hiring mature workers, see How Zoomers Can Help Your Business.
Recruit in the workplace itself
Some of the best recruiting campaigns sprout from a simple idea that is different, interesting, and easy and cost-effective to implement. For A&W Restaurants, placemats that contain employment ads are an effective tool for reaching a targeted labour pool. At Boston Pizza, employees are empowered to hand out business cards that offer a free pizza to anybody who pursues the employment process.
Save the best advertising space for yourself
Have you noticed that employment posters are appearing in washrooms and lavatory stalls these days? This is an effective way of reaching a captive audience. While visiting the restroom, patrons have little choice but to read the writing on the wall and ponder life as a member of your team
Use humour in your advertising
Regularly voted Vancouver’s best fish and chips, Mr. Pickwick’s recruiting campaigns are always served with a dash of humour by seeking employees “who have the talent, skills and audacity to elevate humble fish and chips to the level of cuisine.” Tourism and hospitality have always been profiled as a high-energy, fun industry to be part of. Bringing this element into your recruiting efforts is sure to attract upbeat candidates whose magnetic personalities win over customers and add to your profits.
Be bold
Whitewater Composites/FormaShape, a fibreglass façade and waterslide manufacturer based in Kelowna, BC, placed a billboard sign outside the plant that said “Trespassers Will be Hired.” The press was soon notified, a reporter showed up, took a photo, and ran a full page story in the weekend paper about this innovative recruiting idea, providing immeasurable publicity for the company and its hiring efforts. The following Monday morning, the company voice mail box was full. Of the unprecedented number of calls, 120 potential candidates were identified and enough workers hired to fill the company’s immediate labour needs.
Hire to fit
Companies that succeed at recruiting often hire for the “fit” rather than the skill set. Not unlike customer profiles, developing profiles of ideal employees streamlines the recruiting process. Knowing whom you want helps you identify the best recruiting channels and create employment vehicles and messages that reach candidates you know will succeed — and stay — with you. For North Vancouver-based Earl’s Restaurants, finding staff is never a problem. In fact, the company saves on recruiting costs because people always come to them. The formula for Earl’s recruiting success is in knowing exactly the types of employee they are looking for — and going after them.
Position your jobs as "careers” or “professions”
Speaking at Vancouver's Food and Beverage Conference, Dr. Roslyn Kunin, an economist with the Business Development Bank of Canada, summarized demographic trends and their implications for the job market over the next decade. Kunin said that employers in the industry should ask themselves: Who has the potential to move up in this workplace? "Start training now and look at everyone in the industry as a potential manager or supervisor," she said. Young people need to know that there will be plenty of positions available for those without a post-secondary education and for high school graduates. They need to know that this career path "is the first step to a career in the fastest-growing industry in the world." Employers should emphasize the career path and relay success stories in the industry. Remember, world-famous restaurateur Umberto Menghi started out as a dishwasher.
To learn about raising your profile as an employer of choice, read How to Recruit and Attract Good Workers.
